Signaling device.



P. E. GILLING.

SIGNALING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED Aus.23. 1912.

Patented Sept. 14, 1915.

PRESTON E. GILLING, or Eas'r ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

SIGNALING- DEVICE.

Application filed August 23, 1912. Serial No. 716,579.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PREs'roN E. GILLING,

a citizen of the United States, residing at l East Orange, N ew Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Signaling Devices; and l do declare the following to be a full, true, and exact description of the said invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make use of the same.

llhis invention relates to that form of signaling device in which the sound is produced by a diaphragm mechanically vibrated.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive form of such a device andV particularly, one in which a plurality of diaphragms are vibrated to enable the production of tones of different variety and in which the volume of the sound may be increased without unduly enlarging the diaphragm and in which the sound waves may be directed in a plurality of directions.

With these and other objects in view, my invent-ion consists of certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts such as will be more fully vdescribed and pointed out in the appended claims.

The corresponding parts are referred to Y both in the drawings and following description by similar reference characters.

In the drawings, represents Aa motor, in this instance an electric motor, of which 11-11 are the terminals and 12 one of `the brush supports. rEhe motor 10 is provided with a shaft 13 on which is mounted a cam member 14. This cam member 14 may be entirely of metal and is provided with a plurality of cam projections 15 cut like a crown gear. As a preferred form, though not an essential one, I provide the member 111- withfa cylindrical portion 16 of any suitable non-metallic substance and preferably of a substance having a laminated-structure, such as fiber or compressed rawhide, in which the lammee are arrangedclrcularly in the form shown in the drawings, so that the cam projections V15 have their faces made up of the edges of the laminae.

In the particular form of my device which 1 have chosen for purposes of illustration, I attach to the frame ofthe motor 10 a Vseries of plates 17--17 having openings 18 therein. r1`hese plates 18 constitute a frame `surrounding a portion of the motor, as fshown in Fig. 1, and the upper portion of y this frame is covered by a plate 19 having an ornamental portion 20 attached thereto,

l' and the bottom by a plate 21. Many variations of this particular framework are possible and it may be in one piece integral with the frame of the motor 10. rl`he framework composed of the plates 17, the top plate 19 and the bottoni plate 21 constitute a hollow boX on which the various portions of the sound producing device are mounted.

I have shown this hollow member as a sixsided polyhedron, but it will be understood that it may be of any shape,such as spherical, or it may be a polyhedron of any number of sides, depending on the number of diaphragms which I wish to operate. The frame of the motor 10 in the form which` l have illustrated is square in cross section, but this may be also of any desired shape, although I find it convenient to have the motor of such a shape that the plates, or their equivalent, will extend parallel with the sides thereof.

Over one or more of the openings 18 in v the hollow member which surrounds a portion ofthe motor 10, l place diaphragms 26 of any suitable flexible material, these diaphragms being held to the hollow member between washers 22 of any desired material, and outside of these washers and covering the diaphragm, I provide a plate 23 having an opening 211 therein.

may be provided as is desirable, and that the remaining openings 18, which vare not used for diaphragms, may be covered by any suitable plates, as 25, or if desired, the openings 18 need not be made in such sides of the hollow frame as are not to be provided with diaphragms. y

The diaphragms 26 are attached to the It will be underf `stood that as many of these diaphragms 26 plates 17 byscrews 27, as shown, and the holes in the diaphragm 26 through which these screws 27 pass are slotted, as at 29, t0 permit the diaphragm to be shifted upwardly or downwardly, in the particular lform of my devi'ce which I have chosen for purposes of illustration. It will be understood that when the diaphragm 26 is properly located, the screwsV 27 are tightened andV the diaphragm is thereby clamped in position. To the diaphragm 26 is rigidly attached a pin 28 which forms a projection on the diaphragm 26. This projection may be made in any suitable manner and could be formed directly on the diaphragm itself, though'I prefer to provide a separate metallic pin 28, as I have illustrated.` These pins 28 project inwardly toward the center of the 'hollow member formed by the plates 17, andthe member 14 is located so that the pins 28 are contacted by the tops of the cam projections 15 when'the member 14 is rotated by the shaft 13. It will be understood that each of the diaphragms 26 is provided with a pin similar to that just described, each of these pins extending toward the cen- Y ter of a hollow body and each having an end lto the motor through terminals v11--11, the

sult would be uneven in number.

` portion thereof lying in a position to be contacted by the cam projections 15.

The cam member 14 is preferably provided with a yplurality of cam projections 15 and preferably with such a number of these projections as will enable the pins 28,

when more than one diaphragm is used, to

-be struck successively instead of simultaneously. With anV even number 'of diavphragms located either at right'angles or parallel to Yeach other, as in the specific form which I have illustrated, the number of cam projections 15 to produce the preferred re- It is obvious, however, that'the same result could be Vaccomplished with an even number of such projections by locating the diaphragms around the center of the shaft 13 sothat only one pin or projection thereon would be in contact with one of the cam faces 15 at a time.

poses of illustration, when current is passed shaft 13 is rotated, causing the cam projections 15 to strike against the pins 28. The pin 28 is located in such relation to the cam vprojections A15 as to cause said pin to be swung sidewise and slightly upward when the shaft 13 is rotated. Since the pin'28 is yrigidly attached to the diaphragm 26, this motion of the pin 28 will cause the diaphragm to be bent into ventral segments with the point of attachment of the pin 28 as the neutral point. The further progress of the cam member 14 will cause the pin 28 to pass over the cam projection .15 with which it is in contact, thus allowing the iieXible diaphragm 26 to swing back again when, as will be readily understood, it will swing in` ventral segments to lpropagate sound waves in the well-known manner. The'next cam projection 15 will strikethe same time.

In the form which I have chosen for purf pin 28 to renew the force of vibration. It will be readily understood that each cam face strikes each of the pins 28 so that all of the diaphragms 26 are vibrating simultaneously. By arranging the cam projections 15 and the pins 28 in such a manner that the motor is forcibly flexing one of the diaphragms at a time while the others are swinging freely in the spaces between the cam projections 15, I provide a more nearly uniform resistance to the torque of the motor than would be possible if each of the pins 28 was being moved by the motor at the It will also be understood that if more than two diaphragms are used, this equalized pull on the motor may be obtained even though more than one o-f the pins are being acted on by the motor at the same time. For instance, if four diaphragme were provided, it would be possible to be iieXing two of these diaphragms by the motor while the others are freely swinging, although, of course, a more uniform pull would be obtained if only one of such diaphragms was being moved by the motor at any given instant.

By providing the non-metallic member 16 on which the cam projections 15 are formed, I avoid some of the harsh notes which will be produced when the pins 28 are struck by metallic projections. In order to make this non-metallic member as durable as possible, I preferably form it of laminac, as before described, and to make these laminae as durable as possible, I cut the cam projections 15 so that the striking faces thereof are composed of the edges of the laminac.

By providing slotted holes 29 in the diaphragms 26, I am enabled to move the pins 28 into greater or less engagement with the cam projections 15 by sliding the diaphragm 26 in its own plane, as will be readily understood by an inspection of Fig. 3. This enables me to adjust the pin 28 to have proper working relation with the cam projections 15.

By providing a plurality of diaphragms 26, vI am able to make a relatively small and compact device which will produce the same volume of sound as would be produced with van instrument having a single diaphragm of an area equal to the total of the areas of my plurality of diaphragme. I am also enabled to construct a device in which the several diaphragms face in different directions so as to propagate the sound waves in those several directions. I am also enabled to construct a device in which the sound will be projected in a general forward direction with a minimum amount of effort when the device is used on a rapidly moving vehicle, such .as an automobile. As will be readily understood, when such a vehicle is moving at a high speed, the wind pressure on the diaphragm is relatively great and this wind which I have illustrated is attached to a vehicle so that the corner between the diaphragms faces forwardly, as shown in Fig. l, the wind pressure is exerted at an angle to each of the diaphragms and not directly thereagainst, and the total pressure is thereby greatly reduced.

It will be understood that different variations of the specific form of my device which I have illustrated may be made. For instance, only one diaphragm may be used. It is also possible to use any other system of vibration of the diaphragms other than the one which causes them to vibrate in ventral segments which I have illustrated. It will also be understood that any other form of driving device for the shaft 13 may be provided and that the support for the diaphragm may be made in any desired or ornamental shape.

aving now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows 1. In a signaling device, a hollow polyhedral frame, a plurality of flexible diaphragms, each attached to a face of said frame, a pin on each of said diaphragme, a shaft extending parallel to the faces of said diaphragins, a crown toothed Wheel on said shaft, arranged to engage with the sides of said pins to vibrate said diaphragms and means to rotate said wheel.

2. In a signaling device, a flexible diaphragm having a projection thereon and means to strike said projection to vibrate said diaphragm, said means including a striking member having its contacting face composed of laminae of non-metallic material, said member being constructed and arranged to strike said projection with the edges of said laminae.

3. In a signaling device, a support, a flexible diaphragm mounted thereon so as to be non-rotatively movable in its own plane, said diaphragm being provided with a projection extending from the face thereof and means to strike said projection to vibrate said diaphragm, said projection and said means being constructed and arranged so that the amount of contact therebetween may be altered by moving said diaphragm bodily and non-rotatively in its own plane.

PRESTON E. GILLING.

Witnesses:

HERMAN DoERsCHNER, ABBOTT J. SEGAL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

